Registered Therapeutic Counsellor

Professional counselling for families and their loved ones struggling with mental health, general anxiety and substance use disorders.

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Your Healing Journey Awaits You

Do you have the right tools?

Having a family member struggling with substance use can be difficult and overwhelming for everyone involved. You may feel helpless, frustrated, or angry – and there is help available. Counselling can provide you with the understanding, support, and resources you need to not only cope with your loved one’s struggle with addiction but also to build a better relationship with them. Through counselling, you can learn strategies to help your loved one while still taking care of yourself and be better equipped to handle challenging situations that may arise.

Healing is possible. It’s never too late to start.

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About

Debbi McKenzie has long been driven to seek out and use the tools to create meaningful change in people’s lives. As a practicing Therapist in the field of addiction for more than a decade, she brings a compassionate and understanding approach to her practice. Debbi recognizes that everyone is unique, with individual strengths and struggles, and works diligently to empower her clients on their own terms.

Debbi draws on a wealth of experience in her practice, including private practice, family recovery programs and workshop facilitation. She has also gone the extra mile to participate in Compassionate Enquiry Training with Dr. Gabor Maté, an acclaimed expert on addiction and speaker. On top of that, she continues to stay abreast of the newest advances in the field to ensure she can provide her clients with the best possible care and guidance.

In the past, Debbi held significant positions such as the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Counselling at Little House Society, and the Substance Use Disorder and Family Counsellor at Phoenix Drug & Alcohol Recovery and Education Society. Her deep commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of those battling addiction was evident in these roles. Currently, Debbi has transitioned into a full-time private practice, applying her extensive experience and dedication to continue supporting individuals on their recovery journey.

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Testimonials

Debbi incorporates a powerful combination in her practice of both counselling skills and her gift of who she is as an individual. When I talked with her, she instilled a deep sense of trust and respect which I had not felt before with any other counsellor, and which was imperative for me to begin embarking on my journey with her.

My perspective and relationship with myself has shifted dramatically with Debbi’s loving support and guidance.

Thank you, Debbi – I am very grateful for our time together.

C.C.

White Rock, BC

My experience with Debbi in our counselling sessions was excellent. I found her to be focused, grounded, and compassionate. She got to the heart of the issue and helped provide me with the tools I needed to move forward in my life.

I would recommend Debbi to anyone I know who is looking for support from a highly skilled, professional, and kind counsellor.

M.M.

Vancouver, BC

For more than 20 years, I struggled to understand my tendency to choke up to the point where I couldn’t even express myself. I had seen doctors and psychologists; no one had an answer.

When I asked Debbi what was going on, she nailed it immediately and I felt so much relief – I even started talking more to people! It took two sessions and a lot of journaling to make life-changing progress, and Debbi was with me every step of the way.

A.L.J.

Abbotsford, BC

Debbi is a remarkably insightful counsellor who has been so supportive to me, helping me through an extremely challenging time in my life. I never feel judged by her, and I know that there is nothing I can’t say to her.

Debbi is patient, committed, never minimizes, and most important of all – she genuinely cares.

Debbi is compassionate yet skillfully adept at helping me to have clarity on the issues that stand in my way and the steps I need to take to live a life I love.

Our sessions are always eye-opening, heartfelt, strengthening, and educational. I learn a lot about myself in every session. Debbi seems to know exactly what I need, whether it be guidance, talking through something, or just plain moral support. Through lots of talking, tears, laughter and inner work, she has helped me see the world with fresh eyes and I feel stronger, lighter, and balanced.

I can genuinely say my life hasn’t been the same since working with Debbi.

K.D.

Vancouver, BC

“Survival mode is supposed to be a phase that helps you save your life. It is not meant to be how you live”

– Michael Rosenthal

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious”

– Carl Jung

“You are here to live. Not to earn, not to stress, not to prove, not even to please. Just to live

– Natasha Helwig

“Finding yourself” is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten-dollar bill in last winter’s coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. “Finding yourself” is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.”

– Emily McDowell